Song of Solomon 1:5, “I am dark but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, Like the tense of Kedar, Like the curtains of Solomon.
Rom.7:18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh; for the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not.21 I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. 22 For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, 23 but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members.
We have enough battles to fight in the Christian life without fighting the Windmills of a false identity. Knowing who we are in Christ is imperative in our journey. It is true, that darkness does dwell in my flesh, but it is also true that I have a new heart that longs for God’s presence and God’s will. As a matter of fact, my heart is fashioned to be a dwelling place for the presence of Christ in the person of The Holy Spirit. If you you notice in Rom. 7:21 Paul acknowledges that there is an evil principle that is present in me. He doesn’t say that I am evil: he just says that there is an evil principle in me, that is in my flesh, as it states in verse 18. Notice also that Paul says that the evil principle lives in him, THE ONE WHO WANTS TO DO GOOD. In verse 22 he says that His Inner Man (The true New Self) joyfully concurs with the law (will) of God. He didn’t just say his Inner Man concurred, he said it JOYFULLY concurred. You see, our flesh has an evil principle called The Law of Sin at work in it, but our Inner Man, and our new heart loves the things of God. As a matter of fact, Christ himself lives at the center of the new man. Galatians 2:20 says “I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, yet not I Christ who lives in me.” Colossians 3:3, says you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ is our life is revealed, then you will be revealed with him in glory. Colossians 3:9 says that you laid aside the old man with its evil practices, and have put on the New Self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him, a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian and Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all and in all. At the very heart of your new heart, and your new Self is the Holy Spirit, and He is there to make Christ a living reality in you. Jesus did not just die on the cross for your sins Jesus died on the cross as you the Sinner. He took you in His person the place of execution, and in His person your sins were paid for, and the you the Sinner was executed, in His person. That Old Man was buried in the person of Jesus in the tomb, and on the third day you were raised up a new person in the Risen Christ, who is now your very life. This is at the heart of Paul’s teaching throughout the New Testament. As a Christian you are in Christ, and therefore His history is your history; His identity is your identity, and His future is your future. Listen to what Romans8:28 – 30, says about you.” And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His, That He might be the firstborn among many Brethren; And whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. We know that one day we will all become glorified when we receive our new body in heaven, But the last of the verse 30 declares that there is something about us that has already been glorified. Colossians 1 – 27 Says that Christ in us is our hope of glory. Even though we are waiting for a glory to come, there is already a glory in us because of Jesus living in us. This is the New Creation. A New Heart that contains the Life of Jesus that makes us a New Self; A New Creation; with the illimitable resources of Jesus Himself in us to be Christlike. This the True You. You certainly have been BORN AGAIN. IT’s true that there is darkness in your Flesh, but down inside, where the New Self resides you are Lovely, made for holiness just like the Curtains of Solomon.